That time of the year
by Yellowwolf
Summary: Repost! It's Christmas. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are throwing a little party for their closest friends. HPDM slash.


**Disclaimer:** Don't own them.

**A/N: **This used to be a two-chapter story but because I wasn't pleased with the result, I changed it into a one chapter story and left out a bunch of crap. Thanks to Fresh42jazz for the constructive criticism on the previous version! It's still too perfect but that doesn't matter for this story. Still unbeta'd unfortunately.

**That time of the year**

It was Christmas eve and two boys were at their apartment, making the last preparations for a little party they were throwing for their friends.

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, complete opposites and former enemies, shared an apartment in muggle London. It was pretty big but they had a big budget. The apartment had two bedrooms, one for the two lovers and a guest room, a large bathroom with shower and a bath, a large living room with two couches, a modern television, beautiful wooden furniture and a table big enough for eight people. As last room there was a modern kitchen with a microwave and plenty of cabinets for stocking food.

Harry and Draco had graduated from Hogwarts four years earlier and had both jobs they loved. Harry was an Auror for the Ministry and a damn good one while Draco had opened up a Potions store on Diagon Alley. There you could buy all the ingredients necessary for potions making, cauldrons in all sizes, a bunch of potions -both potions that had existed for a quite a while and potions that Draco himself had invented- and lots of books on Potions. The shop was pretty well known and many Hogwarts students came to the shop to buy what they needed. Even professor Snape often came to the shop when his stock of ingredients ran low.

Their lives at the moment were pretty perfect although they were hectic. They hardly saw each other during the day and sometimes they didn't see each other at all for two days since Harry's hours were pretty irregular. They loved each other deeply and that's what got them through because sometimes like in every relationship, there were fights, arguments. Only problem was that they sometimes went unsolved for days which was hardly good. More then once they had considered breaking up but it was love that had gotten them through.

Harry nervously checked the clock on the kitchen wall. It was six pm. In an hour, his guests would start arriving. They were pretty much done with everything. They'd made their dinner, made some snacks for before dinner and had cleaned up the mess in their apartment. Because both had pretty busy lives, cleaning up wasn't the first thing on their mind when they saw each other after a long and stressful day at work.

"Harry, love, fix your hair." Draco said as he came into the kitchen to grab a last plate of snacks.

Harry nodded. His black hair was messier than usual. He headed into their bathroom and combed his hair. It didn't help all that much but enough to make it look better. He gave himself a long, hard look in the mirror. He couldn't understand how his hair could be such a mess. Everyone was used to it of course but Draco's hair was always perfect while his hair refused to lie flat.

He went back into the living room where he stopped in front of their Christmas tree which was just big enough to fit under the ceiling. They had decorated it themselves without magic because they both liked that. Their Christmases had never been that special growing up and now they could actually do what they wanted. It felt good and doing it themselves, felt like they were free.

The tree was brightly decorated with red and gold. The year before the tree had been green and grey and the year before that again red and gold. They liked to decorate the tree like their former House colours. It reminded them of Hogwarts were both had had a pretty good time and where their lives had actually begun. For both, Hogwarts had been an escape from a home neither liked all that much.

Harry's relationship with the Dursleys had never been good but had improved slightly after he'd moved out. At least now they could be polite to each other. They didn't see each other much which suited Harry just fine.

Draco had no family left but didn't particularly care. His father had been killed in the war and his mother had died soon after. He hadn't been in contact with them after he joined the light side anyway.

Harry's attention was soon drawn back to the tree. It also had lights, beautiful lights which he could stare at for hours. Under the tree laid several presents for each other and their friends.

Two arms wrapped around his waist and a body was pressed against his. Draco pressed a kiss on his neck and rested his chin on his shoulder.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harry said as he enjoyed the warmth of his lover's body.

"Yeah, it is. We did good." Draco replied smiling. Harry sighed happily and turned in Draco's arms. He wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and gazed into his clear grey eyes. Draco held his gaze and smiled warmly.

"I love you so much, Harry. I don't think I could've survived without you." Draco said quietly, breath tickling Harry's face. His breath smelled like peppermint, Harry noticed.

"I love you too, Draco. You kept me sane after the war." Harry answered, sadness returning in his eyes as he remembered those close to him who had died. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville, his closest friends, had survived. Luna hadn't. Neither had Hagrid, Mcgonagall, Remus, Tonks, Charlie, Dean and so many other people he had cared for.

Draco smiled sadly. He shouldn't have brought this up. Harry always got so quiet when he mentioned the war but it was understandable. So many of his friends had found death. Harry had really crashed after the war, everyone had. It had lasted for weeks. Chances had been equal but as soon as Voldemort died, Death eaters lost their guts and they won.

"Hey, it's Christmas. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville are coming over, cheer up." Draco said.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am." Draco said smirking.

"I would've thought your cockiness would've vanished by now, you stuck-up git." Harry teased, stroking through the thick blond hair.

Draco snickered. "You love my cockiness."

Harry smiled because it was true. He was attracted by his cockiness. Draco was still smirking at him which was extremely adorable. He loved kissing that smirk of his lover's handsome face. He leaned forward and pressed his lips on Draco's. His tongue snuck out to meet his. The kiss remained light and teasing. Passionate kissed led to making love and they didn't have time for that now.

Harry pulled away when a thought hit him. "You know what we need? Mistletoe!"

"And why on earth would we need that? No single people here. I don't think Ron would appreciate it if I ended up under the Mistletoe with Hermione." Draco said laughing.

"I wouldn't appreciate it either."

"Ah come on, you've got nothing to fear. I love you and you alone." Draco said sweetly, pressing a kiss on his forehead.

"Love you too. It's a shame though. Mistletoes are always fun. Fred and George put them up in the Gryffindor common room once. That led to some interesting scenes. They'd bewitched the mistletoe so that whoever stepped under it, they'd have to kiss the person they were under it with." Harry said, shaking his head with a smile at the memory.

"Who did you have to kiss?" Draco asked.

Harry blushed. "I ended up under the mistletoe with Ron. The next day, Fred and George spread the rumour we were a couple."

Draco laughed. "That's right! I teased the two of you with it."

"You called us queer." Harry pointed out dryly.

Draco smirked. "Takes one to know one."

Harry rolled his eyes but couldn't stop a smile from breaking out. He was so lucky to have someone like Draco. He could still be a cocky son of a bitch but he was also amazingly sweet and tender. He didn't very often showed that side though. If Draco wanted something, he got it. Draco could be pretty dominant but he didn't care. His lover knew how far he could go with certain stuff so he didn't have to worry.

"What time is it?" Harry asked suddenly, jumping away from Draco and turning to the television next to the tree. There was a small clock standing in the TV cabinet. It said 6.20 pm.

"Harry, relax. They never arrive on time anyway." Draco said smiling as he pulled Harry back in his arms to kiss him again.

Harry pushed him away determinedly. "Not now. We don't have enough time."

"Yes, we do." Draco replied, wrapping his arms around him again, "We can save time by making out in the shower."

Harry rolled his eyes which Draco didn't see as he was busy sucking on his neck.

"Fine." He gave in. Draco led him to the bathroom and closed the door. The shower was turned on, isolating the moans coming from underneath the warm water.

At two to seven pm, the two boys were dressed again and awaiting the arrival of their guests. Draco was wearing something more formal than Harry who absolutely hated formal clothing. Draco was wearing black trousers with a black shirt and a black vest. Harry had tried to make him wear something other than black but Draco had refused. He liked his black and wouldn't change. Harry on the other hand was wearing blue jeans with a red shirt. His lover had tried to convince him to wear something a little more formal but he'd refused, saying it were their friends coming to visit, not someone really important. Draco had given up.

Harry stared at his neck in the bathroom mirror. Behind him he saw Draco standing with his arm crossed and a smug look on his face. He ran his finger carefully over the purple looking hickey and glared at Draco's reflection. His lover smirked.

"Look at this! Everyone will notice! I can't exactly wear a scarf, can I? Would look even more suspicious."

"Now everyone knows you're mine." Draco growled playfully.

Harry rolled his eyes. "As if they don't know already!"

"It's not such a big deal. They're familiar enough with the concept of a hickey."

Harry turned around and glared. "Not the point. They do not need to know we just made out!"

"Harry, relax. They won't even notice." Draco said, still smirking. He obviously thought this whole situation was highly amusing which it wasn't. Not to Harry anyway.

"How exactly can they look past this?" Harry said, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Are we seriously going to argue about this now?"

Harry sighed. "You're right. Sorry. I'm making a big deal out of nothing. It's just a hickey. They've seen plenty of those on both of us when we started going out."

Draco laughed. "Yeah, true."

They wandered back into the living room, making sure everything was prepared. A glance at the clock told Harry it was five past seven. Just as he was about to shake his head, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Harry exclaimed.

"Make sure you close the door quickly or you'll get a cold." Draco commented dryly, referring to the fact that he was only wearing a t-shirt.

Harry rolled his eyes and went to get the front door. His first guests were Ron and Hermione.

"Sorry for being late, Harry." Hermione apologized, kissing his cheek in greeting.

"Yeah, mate. Hermione refused to Apparate in the apartment, saying it was rude. We had to walk two blocks because we Apparated wrong!" Ron exclaimed, juggling the presents in his arm to shake his hand. Hermione rolled her eyes and took some of the presents before her red haired boyfriend succeeded in dropping them.

"No problem, guys." Harry said smiling, "Ginny and Neville aren't here yet either." He led them to the living room where Draco was waiting.

"Hey, Hermione, Ron." Draco greeted smiling warmly at his two friends. It was quite weird how he all of a sudden liked them while they had been enemies before. He still had periods were he hated their guts but they were great. They'd been there after the war for both of them. Their friendship had grown quite a bit. In the beginning, he'd felt left out when the three of them were together but that was no longer the case now.

Hermione and Ron greeted him the same way they had greeted Harry and then placed their presents by the Christmas tree as well. As soon as they were seated, the doorbell rang again. Harry went to open the door again while Draco went to get drinks for their guests.

"Hello, Harry!" Ginny greeted cheerfully, hugging him. She took a bunch of presents and walked into the living room where he could her greeting the others.

"Sorry, we're late. We-"

"-Apparated wrong because you didn't want to Apparate in the apartment." Harry finished laughing.

"Yeah, exactly." Neville replied grinning. After all the greeting were over and everyone was seated with a drink, the conversation started.

"You know, Ron, it's a good thing we didn't Apparate in or we might've umm… broken something up." Hermione said smiling sweetly at Harry. Three pairs of other eyes turned on him and noticed the hickey.

Harry blushed a deep red while beside him Draco smirked. Harry smacked his leg hard.

"Oh, come on, Harry. It's no big deal." Hermione said grinning as she saw Harry's obvious discomfort at the whole situation.

"Yeah, I mean, not as if you're not hiding one yourself." Draco said, jumping to Harry's defence. He was pretty much bluffing about this but it could be.

His bluff appeared to be right as Hermione blushed and as her hand went to her neck and rubbed a spot that couldn't be seen because her hair hung over it.

Draco crossed his arms and a smug look appeared on his face. Harry smiled widely at him. Draco's comment was also the end of the teasing about the hickey as Hermione changed the subject and started asking about how everyone's jobs were going. They hadn't seen much of each other lately as everyone had been busy.

Soon though they reached the topic of the war. It was something they did every year to remember those close to them they had lost.

"Remember Hagrid's classes?" Hermione asked, teary eyed.

Harry smiled sadly. "They could hardly be called dull, could they?"

"Dull they were definitely not." Draco chimed in, rubbing his arm as he remembered that crazy Hippogriff attacking him.

Ron laughed. "That was really your own fault, Draco."

Draco grumbled something but it had been his fault. He held back a rude comment about Hagrid since he knew how much the former Gryffindors had cared for him.

"I still remember McGonnagall talking to us right before the battle. She was telling us to be careful and watch each other's backs out there." Ginny said with a sad smile.

"Yeah, she saved us a couple of times out there. I wish we could've done the same." Neville replied quietly.

"Look, it's no one's fault that she died there. It's no one's fault that anyone died there. We fought the best we could, we did what we had to do. We fought for a common goal and we reached that goal. Everyone knew what he was getting into. Everyone knew some would not return." Draco said. It was something he had repeated many times over the past few years as everyone had dealt with feelings of guilt, especially because they lived and other people died. That had perhaps had been the hardest thing to deal with, the unfairness of it all.

"We did what we could." Harry agreed, "Only perhaps it wasn't enough. Perhaps we could have done more but there's no point in dwelling on that. We should be happy all of us survived, that we still have our lives."

They all nodded. They would never forget the people they lost but feeling guilty didn't help any. This concluded their chat about the war for another year until they were all together again and talked about it. In the meanwhile, they knew, they would talk about it with their lovers when nightmares haunted them.

Harry and Draco made sure their guests had enough to drink and that they were all comfortable. Around nine, they started dinner, during which the happy chatting started again as they learned about each other's lives again and teased each other.

"So, Draco, how is work in your store going?" Hermione asked while taking a sip of champagne.

"Good. Business are actually going great. Severus turned up at my store yesterday actually. He started complaining about how my potions were making living at Hogwarts hell. Apparently, some students have been slipping some of my Truth potion into everyone's drinks. People are constantly telling the truth which has led to some interesting scenes."

Everyone laughed.

"A new Fred and George have arrived at Hogwarts." Ron said smiling.

"I'd say. The teachers are going crazy and they can't figure out who's doing it. They've put surveillance on my store to see who enters and they've asked me to write down everything that's being sold and to who. Of course I'm not going to tell who's buying the truth potion or ingredients for it." Draco replied grinning.

"Draco, you really should tell before fights break loose." Hermione said worried.

"Oh, let the teachers figure it out. It's time something fun happens at Hogwarts." Ginny said smiling.

"Yeah, and I don't think it'll get out of hand. I've talked to the people responsible. They're going to stop once they've used everything. Soon, Hogwarts will be normal again." Draco said smiling. Hermione still looked worried but didn't comment.

After dinner, they moved back to the living room. Wine flowed freely as did the champagne. The girls preferred the champagne while the boys loved their red wine. They opened their presents soon after that. Most presents were stuff they could use in their apartments like toasters and towels.

"You know, there's one thing about girls that I still don't get." Ron started, words slightly slurred, "Why do they always go to the toilet in groups?"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look while Harry laughed since the question had absolutely nothing to do with their current topic.

"Because they love standing in front of the mirror together." Draco answered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Some girls might do that but not all girls stand in front of the mirror forever!"

"Then enlighten us, why do girls never go alone to the toilet and why do they always travel in groups?" Draco asked, looking actually interested.

"Because we feel more confident in groups." Hermione answered.

"And it's easier to gossip." Ginny added smiling.

"So girls gossip a lot?" Draco asked.

"As if boys don't!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No, we discuss girls. You gossip about guys." Ron said.

"You do realize that's pretty much the same, right? You just found another word for it." Neville chimed in.

"Exactly whose side are you on?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No one's side!" Neville replied.

Harry smiled but didn't get involved. Why would he care about this? Not as if they were still at Hogwarts. There the girls' replies could've helped but not anymore. He realized he was the only one who was still pretty much sober. The other five were slightly drunk.

He let the conversation wash over him as he settled himself more comfortably against his boyfriend who had one arm casually around his shoulder. He rested his head against his lover's chest and continued to watch the discussion with a smile. The words didn't exactly make sense but their reactions were fun to study. Draco started a soothing rubbing of his arm as he also stopped commenting.

"You okay?" Draco whispered.

"Just fine." Harry said smiling up at his lover. Draco returned the smile, love clear in his eyes.

Around 1 am, their guests decided it was time to leave or rather Hermione and Ginny did. Ron was quite enjoying himself as he had quite a bit too much to drink while Neville, surprisingly enough, was quite drunk too.

The goodbyes were quite clumsy as Ron stumbled a lot while trying to shake everyone's hands. He nearly knocked over the Christmas tree. The two couples Apparated out and Harry prayed they got back to their apartments.

Harry started cleaning up while Draco fell back on the cough.

"Why's the world spinning?" Draco asked groaning as he tried to focus on Harry who came out of the kitchen.

"The world's not spinning. You drank too much." Harry replied before making another trip to the kitchen to put away some plates. He caught Draco's reply as he came back.

"Who didn't?" Draco mumbled, letting his head fall back against the couch and putting an arm over his eyes.

Harry snickered and headed back into the kitchen once more to grab an instant sober up potion Draco had invented. He seriously considered not giving it to Draco unless he said something about it but then realized a drunk Draco was no good and after their shower adventure, he wanted a repeat of that, only horizontal this time.

He grabbed the potion and poured the liquid in a glass. He carried it back to Draco.

"Here, drink this."

Draco looked at him and took the glass with shaky hands. He gulped down the content at once. For a couple of seconds, it looked like he was going to vomit but then he sat back with a relaxed expression.

"Thanks. You probably should've given that to Ron and Neville as well." Draco said smiling as he helped Harry with the cleaning up.

"Hermione and Ginny can deal with them." Harry replied smirking, "Let's leave the rest until tomorrow and go to bed, shall we?"

"Wait. I've got one more present for you that I didn't want to give while everyone was here." Draco hurried off to their bedroom and came back a second later. In his hands, he held a wrapped square box. He handed the present to him, slightly nervous. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Open it." Draco ordered fidgeting nervously. So Harry did. He tore the paper off. A black box laid now in his hands. He opened it. In the box laid two bracelets. One was silver, the other was gold. The silver one had a green glow to it while the gold one had a red glow. The glow could hardly be noticed but was clearly present.

"The silver one's for you, the red one's for me. It symbolises our former Houses. We wear each other's colours so wherever I go, a piece of you is with me and vice versa. It's my way of committing to you." Draco explained quietly.

Harry smiled widely and had to blink back tears. It was so thoughtful, so sweet.

"Oh, Draco. This is great!" Harry exclaimed as he briefly put the box away to hug his boyfriend.

"I wasn't sure if you'd like it." Draco answered as his arms came around him.

"I love it." Harry said grinning as he pulled away slightly, "It's brilliant!"

Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips on Draco's. The kiss remained light, sweet and teasing. Draco sucked Harry's lower lip in his mouth and nibbled gently. Harry smiled but pulled away.

"Hang on." He grabbed the gold bracelet and took Draco's right arm. "I, Harry James Potter, give you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, this bracelet as a sign of my love. With this I commit to you and swear to be here for you forever." He fastened the bracelet around Draco's arm.

Draco smiled slightly and took the other bracelet. "I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, give you, Harry James Potter, this bracelet as a sign of my love. With this I commit to you and swear to be here for you forever." He fastened the silver bracelet around his love's arm.

They smiled at each other before their lips met for a passionate kiss that spoke of lust and love. They once again separated and decided they needed to get into the bedroom to continue this.

Harry turned off the lights of the Christmas tree and all other lights while Draco went to check the locks.

Once in their bedroom, they both removed their clothes until they were wearing nothing but white boxer shorts and their bracelets.. They stared at each other, admiring each other's bodies before Draco reached for the switch and turned the lights off.

**The end**


End file.
